Alpha's Last Fight: A Paranormal Shapeshifter BBW Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

bill. I can’t thank you enough for it.”
    “Not a problem. Anytime.”
    My stomach tightened as my dad continued to beam at Tommy.
    “Dad, you know you can always ask me if you—”
    “Don’t worry about it one bit,” Tommy said. “I know it’s hard when you’re surviving out there on your own.”
    He winked at me, and my eyes fluttered back down to the ground. I felt so guilty. I hadn’t even known that my dad was having trouble paying the bills. If I had known, I would have gotten a second shift. I would have worked overtime. I would have...
    Meanwhile, my dad and Tommy chatted amicably about the mess of a football game that had happened the night before.
    “The problem is, he’s not built to take a tackle. One game, one bad hit, he’s out.” My dad gestured ferociously at the ineptness of the pick.
    “Sure, but someone has to catch him first.”
    “First game he plays against Dallas. You watch and see.”
    “I’ll bet you a beer you’re wrong on that one.” Tommy smirked.
    I couldn’t stop staring at his cane. What did his leg look like now that it had healed? Was it completely scarred? I didn’t know, and guilt washed over me in waves whenever I considered what I had done to him.
    “Taken. You’ll see. He’s gonna crumble under a good defensive push.”
    “What do you think, Nat?” Tommy looked over at me.
    “You’re speaking Elbonian to me,” I said, picking paint out from under one of my fingernails. My croquet victory had been the beginning and end of my career in sports.
    “What are you doing tomorrow night if you’re not watching the game?”
    “Um. Unpacking my suitcase. Cutting my toenails. Anything but watching some guy throw a ball to another guy while the other guys try to get the second guy.”
    “You don’t appreciate the statistics behind it,” my dad said, shaking his head. “Football is an art.”
    Tommy’s eyes were locked on mine, and I had the strange feeling that he was looking me up and down even though his gaze stayed on my face. A predatory spark flickered in his dark irises and then disappeared.
    “Well, then, Natalie,” Tommy said. “Maybe I could take you out tomorrow night. If you’re not too busy cutting your toenails, that is.”
    He smiled at me so innocently that I thought I’d imagined what I’d seen before.
    “Um,” I said. I looked at my dad, who raised his eyebrows knowingly. Fine . There was no way out of this. “Sure. Where are we going?”
    “It’s a surprise,” Tommy said. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Wear a dress.” He pointed at my dad. “I’m not going to forget about that beer.”
    “You sure won’t, cause you’ll be buying it for me after the Dallas game,” my dad said, clapping Tommy on the shoulder.
    “I have to get back to work. See you tomorrow,” Tommy said.
    “See you,” I repeated hollowly.
    My dad had his hands on his hips, watching as Tommy pulled out of the driveway and sped away, the chrome wheels twinkling in the sunlight.
    “I can’t believe I stood there and let him trick me into a date.”
    “He didn’t trick you,” my dad said, chucking me under the chin. “He’s a good boy. Always has been. And he’s doing well for himself.”
    “I can see that,” I said.
    “What’s wrong with Tommy?” My dad frowned.
    “Nothing!” I threw my hands up in the air. “He’s perfect.”
    “If this is about what happened—”
    “It’s not,” I said. I really, really didn’t want to relive what had happened after the... accident at prom.
    “I know he’s human,” my dad said. “And maybe that scares you, with... what you are.”
    What I am. What I am is a monster. I want to run inside and grab my suitcase, and go far, far away. But I couldn’t do that to my dad, not again.
    “It would be easier if you were like everyone else, sure, but Tommy understands. We all love you just the same. I mean, I was human, and I married your mom.”
    “And look how well that turned out.”
    My dad’s face